Eat for Two

This is an archived blog from 2011. Return to the blog home to read other posts from In the Family Way.

It's been years since I listened to 10,000 Maniacs, mainstays of my college and post-college years. But I know every word and every note of their music, loving Natalie Merchant's quirky voice and amazing ability to tell a story. 

Today, when the magical iPod decided to serve this song up, it was like hearing the words for the first time: 

"Baby blankets and baby shoes,
Baby slippers, baby spoons, walls of baby blue…
Dream child in my head
Is a nightmare born in a borrowed bed…
Now lightening strikes again…
It struck me once, then struck me dead…
My folly grown inside me…
I eat for two, walk for two, breathe for two now…"

It's possible that there is a birthmother out there right now, just realizing that she is pregnant and facing what she can only imagine is a nightmare. That woman could be our birthmom. I know I am getting ahead of myself; we haven't even filled out the forms. But for the first time in the 20+ years since I first heard this song, I got it.

The video quality is terrible, but I had to include this version for several reasons: Natalie is adorable here, it's Arsenio Hall (!), and he holds up the cover to their actual vinyl album. That's when cover art mattered. Enjoy!

And if you are a a frightened birthmom, you will get through this.

This is an archived blog from 2011. Return to the blog home to read other posts from In the Family Way.